


Right Turns in Dubuque

by Vashti (tvashti)



Series: Fourth Dimension [6]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Eureka (TV)
Genre: Community: twistedshorts, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen, Just Another Day in Eureka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 14:34:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13719735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tvashti/pseuds/Vashti
Summary: Everyone needs someone to look out for them.





	Right Turns in Dubuque

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the August 2017 TwistedShorts Ficathon.

Sheriff Jack Carter sighed. "Ms. Rosenberg--"

"Oh, please call me Willow!" the young woman earnestly insisted, despite hanging immobile from within the guts of a GD something or other (for now, at least, it didn't matter what it was). "Even my mother doesn't like to be called Ms. Rosenberg. Or 'mother', or 'mom', or--"

"Willow!"

She winced. "Sorry!"

"I know, I know…" Jack scrubbed his face with his hands. "…you ramble when you're nervous. And I had such high hopes for you," he muttered to himself.

"Am I not good enough?"

Jack yanked his hands from his face to see the utterly devastated expression on hers. "Oh no, sweetheart. No, no…that's not what I meant at all."

"You're just saying that," she mournfully accused.

"No, Willow… I meant you're just as much trouble as the GD scientists. Which," he quickly added, "if you haven't noticed, is usually a sign of their brilliance."

"I guess that's true."

"It is completely true."

"Then why are you disappointed with me?" The pleading in Willow's voice plucked at Jack's heart. She seemed to be only a few years older than Zoe, but far more vulnerable.

Jack sighed. "Oh Willow. I'm just being selfish. As much as I love this town, the uber-geeks have destroyed more police-issued vehicles, uniforms, and my chances at eight hours of sleep than I can count."

Smiling, Willow said, "I haven't destroyed your police-issued vehicle, yet."

"But it is three in the morning and I'm pretty sure SARAH is never going to be able to get this stain out of my shirt," he said, smiling in return. The sweatpants and running shoes he was wearing underneath were already stained beyond redemption.

"Sorry about that, Sheriff," Willow said, blushing prettily.

"Eh...my daughter Zoe has done worse, and she was an adult at the time."

Willow was giggling when Dr. Summers came stumbling into the hallway with a purse slung across her pajama-clad body, trailed by a bright-eyed Andy. "For the love of Palaestra, this had better be good!"

"Pal..." Jack's eyes bounced between Andy and Willow.

"Daughter of Hermes," said Andy.

"Greek goddess of wrestling," from Willow.

Dr. Summers flapped her hands at all of them. "Priorities, people! My big beautiful sciency brain needs its science sleep. " She pulled her special ‘Power-Up’ gloves out of their case. "What'm I bustin' up?"

Jack would have been more annoyed with Dr. Summers if he weren’t ready to crawl back into bed himself. Sometimes there just wasn't enough caffeine. So instead of giving her the comeback her snarky comment deserved, he simply led her to where Willow was tangled. "Fix it and we can all go home."

"Please," Willow tacked on, glaring at Jack.

Not at all perturbed, he patted her elbow (it was the only thinking sticking out) and left Dr. Summers to work. 

Watching the fierce little scientist put her toys to good use, Jack turned over Willow’s reaction to his offhand words. It had been an awfully strong reaction. It sounded like he'd inadvertently hit upon an old wound, but there was also a sense of immediacy to Willow's words. Was there someone at GD making her feel like she didn't belong there? For the most part Eureka's scientific community was very inclusive, but they could also be very elitist. Was Willow being picked on for working at GD but not being a scientist? Jack hoped not.

As those thoughts made a slow turn through his sleep-deprived brain, Dr. Summers had freed Willow from the last length of cable. "Good now?" she asked Willow.

"Yes!" Willow threw her arms around Dr. Summers. "Thank you so much!"

Dr. Summers accepted the hug with good grace and a small smile. "Let’s all go home and go to bed. How about that?"

"Yes, please!" Willow pulled away from Dr. Summers and frowned. “But should I--"

"Clean this up? Tomorrow, or when you come back in the morning or whatever. Sleep now, clean later, I say."

Willow beamed at her. "A policy I can totally get behind. Night, Sheriff Carter."

Jack shook himself to get his thoughts back in order. "Actually, Andy's the designated driver tonight."

"But my car--"

"Will wait until tomorrow. Dr. Summers has the right idea: sleep now, sort later." Jack turned to his android deputy. "You ready, buddy?"

"Sure thing, Sheriff Carter! Shall we ladies?"

Andy led the way and Jack took the rear. He wondered if he could ask Dr. Summers to keep an eye on their resident ‘wizard’.

Fin[ite]


End file.
